Joister Infomedia, which is currently giving free wi-fi facility to about 2 lakh registered users in Mumbai, Pune, Thane and Navi Mumbai, has approached Central Railway (CR) and Western Railway (WR) with a proposal in this regard.

"We appreciate Modi government's move of 'Digital India' campaign and to lend our bit of support, we have sought permissions from Central Railway and Western Railway to give free Wi-Fi facility at all railway stations of Maharashtra," said Nikunj Kampani, chairman and managing director, Joister Infomedia.

"It would be really encouraging if domestic players like us are also given equal chance to partner in Digital India initiative, just as foreign companies like Google have been given," he said.

A senior railway official confirmed that Joister Infomedia's proposal has been received, and said only the Railway Board or Railway Ministry can take a call on it.

Kampani said the company's objective is to connect more and more people with internet.

"It's all about empowering via digital platform. No contracts, no hidden fees and no fine print. We keep everything as simple and transparent as possible.

"It is very important to eliminate the digital divide in the country, as the total population of India is 126 crore, out of which only 36 crore people are able to avail the internet," he said.

The company recently launched its free wi-fi service at Nair Hospital and KEM Hospital in Mumbai and Mira-Bhayander Municipal Corporation. It aims to expand its services to 30 more cities, including Solapur, Satara, Sangli, Chiplun, Nashik and Nagpur, in the next six months, he said.

Internet giant Google had last year announced to provide free wi-fi facility at 400 railway stations in the country.

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BSNL is yet to get the department of telecom (DoT) nod for commercially rolling out 4G services while the Narendra Modi-led government is eyeing to launch fifth-generation or 5G technology together with matured markets worldwide in 2020.